Single coil bridge pickup for a baritone fingerstyle only guitar

[pjd3]

So this is a project started over a year ago that I am getting back to, and its time to create the pickup mounting plate for specific pickups.

This is a 28.625" scale guitar, loosely modelled after a Telecaster shape. I"ve already picked up and purchased the neck and middle pickup but, continued ruminating over a bridge pickup.

This guitar is being very intentionally built as a dedicated fingerstyle electric for performance in the style of Stephen Wake, Tony McManus, Mike Hedges. So, I will most likely never use a pick or distorted gain staging. As a matter of fact, I am building an amp system for this guitar that is primarily very clean and rich and stereo for use with high quality reverbs and signal processing. I have my regular Strats/Marshalls/Fenders for everything else.

I would be very interested in your recommendations for a bridge pickup that you would consider optimum for the application as I've described above - a pickup that will render well, a fingerstyle playing that would best translate styles of say, celtic, or even classical performance, where lows are tight and defined but not thin, mids are present and complex, but not heavily scooped or too thick and congested. And, highs that are present but not strident or peaky. I guess a good balance of eq might be whats called for here.

Just to fill out the picture, I purchased a Humbucker from Hell for the neck position, and a Seymour Duncan Lipstick for the mid position. I designed a schematic that will offer over 40 discreet coil configurations for numerous serial/parallel/cut coil, out/in phase, 4 way toggle switch and ser/par cut pickup for the mid and bridge pickups. I did this because who the hell knows what will be the best tones for what song or style/performance.

But, my focus is to see about an optimum bridge pickup suited for this oddly specific and niche application.

Thanks for your recommendations.

Best

Phil D

[Mincer]

I'd think any vintage output single would work, like an SSL-2. They are extremely touch-sensitive and clear, so every nuance can be replicated. I wouldn't consider it thin at all, especially on a baritone. It should accept processing well, too, without sounding mushy.

[jeremy]

you say this is modeled after a tele. does it have a tele style bridge?

[elelpe]

I'd go with Phat Cat (if it has HB route) or APTL-1 (if it has tele pickup route).

[hamerfan]

I play also fingerstyle and prefer (in different guitars) a neck strat style single coil, the same in middle (to get the Knopfler like inbetween sound) and a bridge P90. But variations like Lipstick and PhatCat could also work). An amazing sound is also a Goldfoil neck.
Listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eAyov1eKsw

[pjd3]

Thank you all for the relevant and thoughtful responses.

I haven't received the bridge yet but found what looks to be a fully brass hardtail strat type bridge on Ebay of all places. It has the more chunky block type saddles. Some guy in Europe makes them - they are about $109 (Hungary). What is desirable about this bridge is that it has a string span of 56.5 mm (2 7/32") which this guitar will require. As well, I'll need to pay attention to the pole spacing on whatever bridge pickup I land on. I've been dimensioning out the Pickup mounting plate which will be one piece for all 3 pickups plus, some extra area's for a handful of Celtic themed brass pendants. I'm going for looks and design on this guitar as well as performance.

Its an odd pickup placement. The Humbucker from Hell is in the typical location - top coil aligned where the 24th fret would be. But then, I'm inlaying a 2" or so trapezoid shaped Greenman face thats about 2" long, maybe less. Then, the SD Lipstick pickup closely followed by the bridge single coil (but not too close to each other - pickup centers are about 1.125" apart.

The bridge pickup pole center is 1.9" from the bridge theoretical saddle positions (28.625" from nut). What I did was measure my Strat bridge pickup distances from high E to bridge (1.5") and also Low E string to bridge (1.9") and calculate the average between those (around 1.7"). Then, I multiplied that times the scale difference factor ((28.625" / 25.5" = 1.122) x 1.7")) = around 1.9" for bridge pickup up to bridge distance. Ha, I judged myself as being unduly obsessive about arriving at a horizontally positioned bridge pickup distance but, hey, I had to do something, and I don't have any reliable way of discerning exactly how different distances from the bridge will actually sound. I'll live with it for now. And of course, I had to make room for "Greenman" which mandated the Lipstick pickup to be fitted between the bridge pickup and the imposing Greenman face. I was OK with not having typical Neck/Mid/Bridge pickup distances, and actually am interested in the odd location of the Lipstick pickup - a bit random and non traditional. The schematic I came up with will allow for a huge plethora of electrical coil congigurations so, that may offset any expectations for traditional pickup locations.

Thanks for hanging in here with me and I will be sure to spend some time listening up to the recommendations here so far. Makes it all a very interesting venture. I have no interest in coming up with something "traditional". Its not to begin with!

Thanks and best, still looking for a good bridge pickup contender. And just to clarify, my definition of "fingerstyle" very much pertains to acoustic fingerstyle (celtic, folk, classical) as opposed to the electric Knopler fingerstyle. I have my good old Strat for that.

Best,

Phil D

[donaldr]

Have you thought about a piezo bridge pickup?

[Mincer]

Have you thought about a piezo bridge pickup?

Ohhhh, I bet that would be awesome on a baritone. Especially blended with magnetic pickups.

[pjd3]

No, I hadn't thought about that for this guitar but now that you mention it, I may wan't to take a look into it. Considering what this guitar is meant to play, it may be a great addition to put in the mix. Thanks! I will look into that.

Best

Phil D.